Bloodshot Records is extremely pleased to announce the signing of Mississippi-bred, Tennessee-based songwriter Cory Branan.

We’ve had our eye on Cory for just about as long as he’s been honing his air-tight, clever version of the perfect storysong. For those who don’t know him, though, Branan is the owner of two well-crafted, kinetically charged albums - 2002’s The Hell You Say and 2006’s 12 Songs – on Madjack Records. From the two releases came standouts (“The Prettiest Waitress in Memphis,” “A Girl Named Go,” “Tall Green Grass,” and many others) that we’ve listened to in embarrassing amounts, and then probably annoyed our friends with to boot. He has garnered praise from Rolling Stone, GQ, Billboard, and performed on Late Night with David Letterman (look at that baby face, here).

Cory has a well-documented history with groups like former label mates Lucero, musicians of his ilk who trend toward the rawer end of roots music (The Loved Ones’ Dave Hause, Chuck Ragan, Two Cow Garage, Drag the River’s Jon Snodgrass), and rock stars like Chris Carrabba (Dashboard Confessional), who has covered Cory’s gorgeous “Tall Green Grass” and been a reoccurring tour mate.

And that touring element was just the icing on the cake for us. Never one to shy away from an itinerary of non-stop cross-country shows, Cory possesses a unique performance style that enables him to gravelly sing a coy double entendre in one ear of the audience, while yelling the most beautiful love song into the other. So after falling in love (!!!) with a demo of his new material, we jumped at the chance to add him to the fold. We’re excited to say that his label debut is on its way in Spring 2012 under the title Mutt.

Upcoming shows:

-Every Monday in January, residency at The Basement in Nashville (w/ special guests)

-February 3 – Little Rock, AR – White Water Tavern Anniversary show (w/ Ben Nichols of Lucero)